DC Update – Lives Lost

Many of you are fans of DC, my tortoiseshell cat with plenty of “tortie-tude,” whether from my blog or as a beloved character in the Dickens Station Christmas Cozy Mystery Series. Well, my favorite fourteen-year-old feline lost two of her nine lives last year. Since we’re not sure how many of her nine lives she has left, life is changing for this scrappy cat.

Life #1: DC started life in the gutter, literally. Her mother’s owner threw her out as a kitten, to survive on her wits and handouts of food from neighbors. Then, one day, my wife was walking our dog when she noticed something odd happening. This little scrawny tortoiseshell cat was following her and our dog, Sheba, around the block on their walk almost every day. When Linda and Sheba paused, the cat would pause. When they resumed walking, the cat would as well.

After a while, Linda began leaving food out for the cat. When other animals terrorized the cat for the food, we let the cat come inside to eat.

I grew suspicious when the cat began napping inside during the day, in my lap. So, I asked Linda about this several times. She kept assuring me that we did not own a cat. Now, mind you, we had cat food, cat treats, cat toys, litter boxes, and cat-related vet bills, so, being a quick-thinking, observant fellow, I began to question if Linda was being completely forthcoming with me. The cat tree in our living room should have been a dead giveaway. Then, when one of our famous Florida hurricanes came a callin’, and Linda had the cat microchipped to us, she had to fess up and admit that we did, in fact, now own a cat.

Seven years passed, and the schedule had been working pretty well. DC would come inside to eat, sleep the day away, and then go back outside at night to roam. If either Linda or I were sitting, DC could be found curled up in our lap, asleep. But she was getting older, and we suspected a day would come when her nighttime outside escapades might have to end.

So, what happened last year? In 2025, DC was attacked twice during the night. The first incident left her with a severe back injury that required us to isolate her inside while it healed. When she begged us to let her go out at night again, a second attack left her with a severe puncture wound to her chest.

I never really wanted a cat, but I must admit, I’ve grown to love DC. It would break my heart if anything else happened to her, and Dickens Station fans would never forgive me. So, the decision has been made, our little stray cat, who still sits and looks longingly at the door to be let out in the late afternoons, has been declared an indoor cat for her own safety.

We’re still not sure which of her nine lives she is on, or how many she has left, but however many there are, they will be safe, happy, and healthy.